Plastic Chemical BPA is “Of Some Concern” to Children, FDA Says (Finally)

After months of waiting for the Food and Drug Administration to announce its new stance on the safety of the controversial plastic chemical bisphenol A (BPA), we now know the answer.

Drum roll please. The FDA now says BPA should be “of some concern” for children and infants. The new stance on BPA represents a partial reversal for the agency, which has in the past contended that BPA – which is used to make infant bottles, sippy cups, and other consumer plastics — was safe when used at currently approved levels.

Consumer safety groups and others have long been calling for the FDA to reconsider that position and claimed scientific research supports a finding that BPA is more dangerous than the FDA was admitting.

BPA is a plastic chemical commonly found in bottles, CDs, bike helmets, and sunglasses, among countless other consumer goods, the Wall Street Journal reports. The chemical also is used to make resins that coat the inside of bottle tops and metal cans.

Over time, BPA may seep from containers into baby formula, milk, and other liquids carried in bottles and build up in the bodies of children, critics say. The concern is that higher levels of BPA ingested by infants and young children might cause developmental delays and unknown health complications later in life. Recent studies also have linked BPA exposure to heart disease and male impotence, among other problems.

Is a BPA Ban Next?

The FDA’s change in course on BPA safety is seen by many as a step toward banning the use of BPA in children’s products – and maybe altogether.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the FDA now agrees with the National Toxicology Program, which in 2008 said BPA was of “some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures.”

Stay tuned to see what follows in terms of BPA. Will the FDA crack down harder on the use of BPA in children’s products? Or will the agency bow to what promises to be immense chemical-industry pressure to protect BPA producers and their profit margins?

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